On July 15, the long awaited “Ghostbusters” reboot will be released. The remake features an all female cast starring Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. The reboot has encountered some criticism, saying that an all female cast will ruin a classic “guy comedy.” Others are saying that seeing women in an action movie is empowering. Annalee Newitz, the editor in chief of io9, a science and science fiction blog, wrote an article that focuses on why calling the “Ghostbusters” reboot the “all female Ghostbusters” is terrible. She says that the new “Ghostbusters” movie is exactly that — a new “Ghostbusters” movie. The actors just happen to be all female. I agree with Newitz, “Ghostbusters” shouldn’t be scrutinized because of its all female cast.

Newitz says that referring to the reboot as the “all female Ghostbusters,” is like referring to doctors that happen to be female as “lady doctors.” She believes that the titling of it as an all female movie puts women into a subcategory and lets men go unlabeled. My feelings about the movie are the same as Newitz’s. This new “Ghostbusters” is just a new movie starring four wonderful actresses. Their gender won’t take away from the quality of the movie in the slightest.

There’s no reason why the cast for this new movie couldn’t be all male and there’s no reason why the cast for the original movie couldn’t be all female. The genders for these roles aren’t important; it’s how strong and funny the actors are that matters. I think that people still have the idea that women can’t take on the roles men once had; that they can’t be funny or heroes by themselves.

The new cast is fully equipped to fill the big shoes the original cast left behind. Wiig, McCarthy, Jones and McKinnon are some of the most well-known comedians right now. I don’t understand why people are focusing on the “all female” aspect of the cast.

The original director of the “Ghostbusters” series, Ivan Reitman, was ready for the reboot. According to Borys Kit, a writer for the Hollywood Reporter, Reitman, along with original cast members, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson had all agreed to reprise their roles. However, Reitman left the project reboot when Ramis passed away in 2014. Director Paul Feig picked up the reboot and decided to make a remake starring an all female cast.

The fact that the cast is entirely female has nothing to do with the quality of the reboot. If any actor is capable of living up to the roles Bill Murray and Aykroyd left behind, it would be Wiig and McKinnon. People should be excited about how well it was cast.

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One Response

  1. Brian

    Aside from a small % of critics, nobody is laying the blame for what looks like the flop of the summer at the feet of an all female cast. Though it has to be said, these women will not live up to the expectations many people will have after the first two movies, the trailer adequately demonstrates that.

    The trailer looks terrible. The acting is laughable, but given the quality of the script (what we’ve seen so far) the actors themselves aren’t entirely to blame. Around $150 million has been spent on this, and people are wondering, how? It seems to be all CGI, which is expensive for sure, but far more attractive looking movies have been made for far less. The characters come across as pathetic for the most part, nothing like the original 4.

    As I’ve said, the number of people lambasting this movie due to an all female cast is small in number compared to the majority, and while many had no issue with the news, even before we discovered who the four actors would be, the motives behind the movie have to be questioned. Who has this movie been made for? The fans (men & women) who’ve kept the franchise alive for over 30 years? Or is this pandering to a small but vocal section of society, the SJW’s? The same SJW’s that have now turned on the movie due to the coloured actors character being a walking, talking stereotype? So, before this movie has even opened it’s turned off a large percentage of the core fanbase, and enraged a percentage of the new crowd it wanted….Ghostbusters 3 should not have been this.

    And if you question the validity of what I say, re the motives behind the movie, I urge you to search for what an executive at Sony had to say about the criticism, what Paul Feig had to say about the wrath he received, and take a look at this interesting picture of the cast and crew, it says it all really –
    http://i0.wp.com/www.cinegarage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ghostbusters-Girl-Power.png

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